Rehearsing a response before a difficult situation
Prepare for one upcoming situation by practising a response, trying an obstacle and adjusting your plan with support.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Rehearsing a response before a difficult situation
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When to use ‘Rehearsing a response before a difficult situation’
‘Rehearsing a response before a difficult situation’ is an interactive dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) worksheet. Consider this resource when exploring how a client responds to intense emotions, distress or relationship difficulties, and where acceptance or a change in response might fit.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 20 minutes. It centres on one focused exercise:
- Explore, choose and review
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The DBT approach behind it
‘Rehearsing a response before a difficult situation’ draws on dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). DBT brings acceptance and change together: recognising an experience as it is while considering a different response. Its skills include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. These offer ways to notice what is happening, stay with difficult moments, understand emotions and communicate needs. The therapist and client can consider which skills fit the situation.
It is intended as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis. The therapist can help decide how it fits the work and discuss what emerges.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet draws on dialectical behaviour therapy. Key sources include:
- Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Guilford Press.
- Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- NHS 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland): 111 — choose the mental health option for urgent help, in England, Scotland and Wales (in Wales, press 2)
- Lifeline: 0808 808 8000 — for urgent help in Northern Ireland, free, day or night
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- Shout: 85258 — text SHOUT, free, day or night
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 — 4pm–10pm, every day
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